The Latest

As I sit here in my hotel room on what feels like the first real day we've had off since late March, I have a lot to look back on and think about. I say it's our first "real" day off because any other day off we've had has usually meant a 7 to 10 hour drive day. But today, there is no time schedule to keep and nowhere to be, and it feels pretty good.

As I take a look at where I last left off, we just had an amazing time in Dallas and Houston was next. Texas has always been very good to Dommin. Houston was great just like Dallas. It was unfortunate that we had to skip Austin and San Antonio this time. But I hope we're back soon. Just before we had played these shows, I was told there are plans for us to return in early August. I hope we see a lot of the same faces there again. We met so many fine people in Texas. Orlando left me wanting more. No, not from the show. The people were cool and the show was great, but how could I be so close to DisneyWorld and the new Harry Potter land in Universal and NOT visit?? Unfortunately, it's the common case on tour. There is never much time to do anything but be at the venue. Somehow, we MUST schedule the next tour to give us a day off after the next gig in Orlando. Not that we could do everything in a day, but at least we could feel like we made the most of the time there, even if it's only just a small taste of the fun.

At the show in Myrtle Beach, we were told that our good friends and former tour-mates, Lacuna Coil were playing a show the very next night. It was really cool because upon leaving Myrtle Beach for Atlantic City, we were able to stop by the House Of Blues hoping that their tour bus would already be there. Sure enough, as we pull up, most of the guys are hanging outside the bus. It was really nice to be able to pay a brief visit and just say hello to those guys (and girl). I certainly miss them. They are such good people to be around. It's interesting what a small world this music industry can be. From Lacuna Coil to HIM to We Are The Fallen and all their crew, we'll be seeing them all this summer during festival season and no doubt will be crossing paths many times in the near future.

For now, we had a 10 hour drive day to Atlantic City and then the last 4 shows of the HIM tour. It was almost unbelievable how fast this tour was wrapping up. There was a time back in February when it was hard to imagine the end of the tour. It seemed like so many days and so many shows ahead of us. Now, we couldn't believe it was almost all over. We played Atlantic City and then made our way to spend 3 days in New York City. It's one of my favorite places in the world. When I get there, all I want to do is eat. It's one of the places you can go where you can pretty much rely on the fact that any restaurant you visit will have decent if not the most amazing food you've ever tasted. Unfortunately, with schedules the way they are on tour, I don't think I ever ate more than one meal a day while we were there. But the shows were great. It was nice to be able to not have to load up our equipment because were going to be playing the same place the next night. So fortunately, we were able to make our way out to our merch area pretty quickly. However, I was pretty bummed about the last night. I consider myself a man of my word. And when I say that we will be at merch until the last person leaves, I mean it. However, on the last night of the show, security, who apparently had complained and had issues with us being at our merch the two nights prior, finally told us we were not allowed to do what we were doing. So on the last night in New York, we were forced to leave the area before HIM played their last song of their set. I felt really bad. I understand the security issues. The Fillmore certainly isn't built in a way that makes it easy for people to move in and out of the venue. The merch area is simply a big road block. And I'm sure our presence there doesn't help either. I hope that people who were expecting to meet us understand that it was a situation out of our control.

The HIM tour has been great for us. We started with them in Europe and finished with them in the US. From about the 2nd or 3rd day on the tour, the crew for HIM and the band themselves were so very gracious and really took us under their wing. We are so grateful to have been given the opportunity to play for their fans. I think HIM fans certainly understand the type of music that Dommin is doing. The reactions we have been getting on our Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Official Website have been more than we could ever have hoped for. I certainly think it has boosted the band's profile and there are a lot more people out there who know the name Dommin and more people who have truly connected with the music. I can't explain the feeling of having connected with so many people on that level. I only hope they continue to walk with us on this journey that is only just beginning.

Missed Dommin when they came through town with HIM? Well make sure you check them out at their upcoming headline shows! Click on the date for more info and to buy tickets

HEADLINE SHOWS:
May 11 Philadelphia, PA TROCADERO
May 12 Baltimore, MD TALKING HEAD
May 15 Detroit, MI THE MAJESTIC CAFÉ
May 16 Chicago, IL BEAT KITCHEN

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted a blog update and a whole lot has happened. We finished off Canada by ending in Vancouver. That last show was played just one or two days after I had received the news that one of my music heroes, Peter Steele of Type O Negative, had passed away due to heart failure. I dedicated the last song of the set to his memory, and to my surprise, most people seemed unfamiliar with the man. The guy is certainly one of the reasons that bands like HIM and Dommin even exist in their current form. I got the opportunity to write a short piece about him that I am hoping is used in Kerrang Magazine.

Canada went much better than expected, especially performing as a trio which made me feel a bit like I was alone on stage...quite intimidating. But the reactions from people who had never heard of Dommin and the things we were told after the set were much the same. This helped reassure me that I could hold the stage on my own, but I still prefer not to. I also hate using tracks. But as we made our way down the coast into more familiar territory, we were playing cities that we have now played close to 4 or 5 times; and it showed. From Seattle to Portland to San Francisco, The Domminites were out in full support and made their voices heard. It was quite nice to start hearing the lyrics being sung back at me just under my own voice. I am looking forward to our headlining shows where I can really trust that the entirety of the audience is able to sing along with me. Those are really special moments.

We eventually made our way home. It was a pretty rough stretch on the voice. Because we had some extra performances to play when everyone else on the tour had a day off, we were going on 9 days straight with no rest. But we managed. Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Diego all feel like home. And why shouldn't they? Most of us were able to sleep in our own beds, use our own showers and see family and close friends. In most ways it is nice. In other ways, it adds a whole new level of stress and anxiety because there are so many people you are trying to cater to and take care of, but familiarity goes a long way. The weird thing was that being home felt a bit like staying at a very familiar hotel. With the schedule being what it is, we were literally only home to sleep. We would get in at about 3 A.M. and have to be on our way to the venue by noon the next day. Anaheim was the first city we hit in our home town, and I made sure to take the opportunity to visit Disneyland while I was there. It is literally in the same complex as the House of Blues venue so it couldn't be more convenient. It was nice to come back and visit after not being home since January. We then hit San Diego. This is probably one of my favorite cities to be in but we were literally down for the show and then back up to our homes. Los Angeles was next. Though Anaheim is technically closer to all of us, Los Angeles felt like the big hometown show and probably the biggest show of the tour. The Wiltern was a sold out, 2300 person capacity venue. Management, label reps, agents, lawyers, press, photographers, promoters, families, friends, acquaintances as well as the packed in crowd were all there. With the largest stage on the tour comparable to an arena-sized stage, we were able to really move around and make the most of the space we've been deprived of throughout the majority of the tour. Once again, I could hear the voices just beneath my own. :-) The hometown show was a success.

We were then off to Las Vegas, which is always a good time, and then to two cities we have never played before: Salt Lake City and Denver. Salt Lake City, or technically Magna, UT, was a good show but a little odd with the day light beaming in from the sky lights and large side windows. It pretty much made our lighting useless until near the end of our set when the sun started to set. And Denver was actually quite a nice surprise. For never having played the city before, we had some fans there that knew our music backward and forward. The stage in Denver was so small I was worried that I might fall over into the crowd. We weren't able to use our backdrop and I was told that New York is going to be even smaller. My only regret for these two shows was that we were sold out of our CDs. My hope is that people are intrigued enough to look us up and don't forget about us not having taken the CD home with them that night.

It's really crazy that this tour is drawing to a close already. There are only about 9 shows left. When we left home in January, it was a long way to May. Now, it seems like it's ending faster than expected. It's almost surreal. Then we do about 4 headlining shows in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit and Chicago to get us back home. We've got some new video blogs that are on the way. They will be posted in the premium area of our site first before everyone else can view them. The other guys in the band are also becoming more active on Dommin.Com as well. We've been enjoying watching the gradual growth of the site. We're off to Dallas, Texas and to commence the last leg of this tour. We have a lot to anticipate over the next 10 days. Houston, Atlanta, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Atlantic City and New York City, here we come.

DOMMIN are excited to announce that they will be taking part in several of Europe’s summer festivals. The invasion will begin at the Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park Festivals, happening June 4th-6th, 2010 in Germany. Click on the date below to buy tickets. Keep checking back here for more info!

DOMMIN EUROPEAN SHOWS:
June 4-6 Rock Am Ring/Rock Am Park, Nurnberg, GER
June 4-6 Rock Am Ring/Rock Am Park, Nurnberg, GER
June 13 Download Festival, Donnington Park, UK

Bless me father for I have sinned, it has been 5 days since my last blog entry.....

So as I type, we are traveling from Calgary to Edmonton in what I didn't realize is a very barren Canada. For some reason I expected a lot more greenery and forestry. But as it is, the landscape is pretty brown and barren. Perhaps it's merely the season. All I know is that it's been quite a week.

Just after the last blog I wrote, falling asleep with a great sense of gratitude and appreciation, I wake up to a not so cool discovery. As we check out of our hotel, I walk around the corner to one of those public pay-lots where our van and trailer is parked to discover the lock on the side door protruding. I immediately knew this was no good. Sure enough, I am able to open the door without the key and as I look inside, it's trashed. I first noticed the new stereo I bought last tour has been ripped right out of the dash. Second, I notice our navigation system is gone. Then as everyone else arrives and we tidy the mess that's been left, we start to realize what is and isn't actually missing. Luckily it's not far to Milwaukee which gives us the time we need to file a police report, file a claim with the lot and take care of all nuts and bolts of a situation like this. However, this is the best theft we could have hoped for. It could have been much much worse. Fortunately, they didn't get into our trailer where our equipment sits which means we don't have to cancel a show and even better, they didn't actually take off with the van and trailer and leave us stranded. So as much as it sucks to have something like this happen, I think it does more damage to my already damaged view of humanity than it does in actual material costs to us. Poor ol' 'Rose' has gone through a lot on this tour. It started with the axle on our trailer breaking as it was being driven out by our trusty tour manager, Reno, before the first show in Philly. Now she's had her lock busted on the side and on the way to Calgary a rock flew and put a crack in our windshield. Not to mention all the butter-hands that sit in this van constantly spilling stuff on her interior. I look forward to the end of the tour when she will once again sit clean inside and out.

Milwaukee was a great show and it really stands out well in my mind. There was something extra about that night that I can't put my finger on. My voice felt like it was the best it had been in weeks, my energy was high, I just felt like I had a fire in me that was burning extra hot and extra bright. One of the contributing factors, I cannot mention here. But perhaps it will come out one day. Until now, I'll be a gentleman. After the show, we had two days off, but they don't really feel like off days when it consists of one 12-hour drive followed by a second 16-hour drive. In fact, I think we all ended up more tired on these days off than we would if we had performances. As we are still traveling in a van, it's not like a tour bus that you can go on, sleep in your bunk and ride to the next town and let the driver worry about it. We are the drivers. But it's great. I don't think any of us mind. Sure no one wants to volunteer for the first drive shift, especially if we have to leave really early, but someone always steps up....usually me.

Well, I guess that leaves us where we left off last night, Calgary. It seemed like a bit of a sparse crowd. And I think I made the mistake of pushing my voice too hard again. It felt a little like it did in St. Louis just before I lost it...quite a bit of pain after the show and I didn't go out to merch to greet everyone until the very end of the show. I'm hoping that doesn't happen again and I really need to make sure I'm more conscientious. Sometimes I just can't help it. I get up there and I lose it like it's the last performance we will ever do. I let the passion take over. I guess part of being a professional is keeping in mind the entire tour ahead of you. I will really try to make that transition of thought. Tonight will be the test of what happens over the next couple of days...I'm a bit nervous about it.

It's been quite a week.
I sit here in my hotel room taking it easy tonight. The other guys are going out for a night in the windy city.
I'm taking it easy because my throat is in it a bit of pain. I really must be careful not to over do it and today I had a pretty long-winded interview prior to the show.
Normally it would be fine, but when your vocal chords have shut down and they are unnaturally being used before they are allowed to heal normally, you gotta be careful and baby them a little.

But there is one thing I think I need to make clear. I don't feel bad. I don't feel ill. I'm not sad. I'm actually quite good humored about the whole thing. I may be quiet and not very talkative, which is annoying and some people may misinterpret that like I'm in a mood. But I'm not upset about any of it. In fact in can be quite funny trying to mime what you want to say or really react to people's comments in a non-verbal way. So I feel good. I'm excited and happy to be here where we are and doing what we are doing. I just know that if I want to deliver every night and really give people my best, I gotta take it easy with things right now outside of the performance. I hope none of the people who come to meet us after our set take it the wrong way and think I don't want to talk to them. In my mind I'm screaming "I'm really quite personable!!!"
I really love being able to put my heart out there every night.
If anything, this whole experience has been really heart-warming.
Normally, I wait until the end of the tour to get all mushy on the people who have accompanied on us tour. But so many people have been so wonderful showing their concern.
From Gas, Burton, and Linde in HIM, I've been getting the status check up every day just simply asking how the voice is coming back. The fact that any of these guys take time out of their day to be concerned about lil' ol' me says something about the character of this band. Then you have their entire crew really just being so good to us since we were in Europe with them all. They are all such wonderful people to be around and have also gone above and beyond in being helpful towards all of us in Dommin.
We've also become acquainted with the other bands on this tour: Drive A and We Are The Fallen. All of them full of cool people are a joy to be around. We had to share a dressing room today and to tell you the truth, I hope we are forced to do it again. I like the camaraderie on tour.
Then we have the boys in Dommin. I'm so proud of the guys. They've really stepped it up. Not only have they been going out there every night and kicking ass with me every night, but they've helped be my voice when I haven't had much of one. It's really a pleasure to be sharing the stage with these guys every night.
So hell, I don't know why I'm getting like this right now...maybe I'm PMSing...
All I know is I feel good and I think that part of it is due to the really great professional people I am surrounded by on this tour. And it is great to know, that this is only the beginning. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future. It seems to be the nature of this small rock 'n' roll world.

So as I sit here in my hotel room, putting all this into perspective and thinking about the many ways I'm blessed, I can't wait to see what the rest of the tour brings. Something tells me it's going to go by very fast. So I'll keep trying to remind my stubborn self to take it easy and keep my mouth shut. I guess that's all for now. I probably should have been asleep two hours ago...good night world!

Due to Kris just getting over laryngitis, the band will regrettably not be performing at the 4/8 instore, so they can be 100% at the HIM show on the 9th.

However, members of the band will be on hand signing autographs, meeting the fans and listening to songs from their new album "Love is Gone".

THE BAND WILL BE GIVING AWAY A PAIR OF TICKETS AT THE IN STORE TO THE SOLD OUT HOUSE OF BLUES SHOW WITH H.I.M. FRIDAY NIGHT, SO COME BY FOR YOUR LAST CHANCE TO WIN!